7 defence personnel die as IAF chopper crashes in Arunachal Pradesh

Bijay Sankar Bora and Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

Guwahati/New Delhi, October 6

All seven defence personnel on board were killed when an Indian Air Force (IAF) M-17 V5 helicopter crashed about 130 km from the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Himalayas close to the India-China border on Friday.

Tawang Superintendent of Police MK Meena informed The Tribune over phone that the deceased included two Army personnel and five IAF personnel, including the two pilots of the chopper.

He said the crash occurred around 6.30 am today after the chopper had taken off from Khirmur helipad to an Army post with some supplies on board to drop the same at the army post.

A rescue team comprising Army and IAF personnel rushed to the crash site located in a hostile terrain and recovered the bodies. The police official said the cause of the crash was being investigated. He said the weather was all right around Tawang at the time of the crash.

The IAF has confirmed all seven deaths. A court of inquiry has been ordered.